As Korea's top 10 conglomerates unveiled plans to invest 300 trillion won in regional areas over five years, North Gyeongsang Province is making an aggressive push to position itself as the optimal investment destination, citing its stable power supply and abundant water resources.
The province is actively seeking investments in semiconductor fabs in Gumi to achieve global technological supremacy, new materials and hydrogen facilities in Pohang, and next-generation materials and components in Yeongju, where a bearing cluster is being established.
According to the provincial government and Gumi city on the 12th, efforts are particularly focused on attracting semiconductor fab investments among the conglomerates' regional investment plans.
The province argues that Gumi, with its abundant infrastructure, offers a realistic alternative that addresses both balanced national development and corporate investment efficiency, as semiconductor clusters concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area face limitations from power and water shortages.
Supporting this claim is the availability of power, water, and land—essential requirements for semiconductor fab construction.
North Gyeongsang ranks first nationwide in power self-sufficiency at 228%, with approximately 56,000 GWh of surplus electricity annually, enabling stable power supply even with additional large-scale fab operations.
The province also has ample industrial water and wastewater treatment facilities based on the abundant Nakdong River system.
A site of approximately 6.6 million square meters, located within 10 kilometers of the planned Daegu-Gyeongbuk New Airport, offers excellent global logistics accessibility.
The province is also ramping up investment attraction efforts for national industrial complexes in Pohang and Yeongju.
The 6.08-million-square-meter Pohang Blue Valley National Industrial Complex is steadily attracting companies and infrastructure related to secondary batteries, hydrogen fuel cells, advanced new materials, and artificial intelligence.
Phase 1 construction has been completed, with Phase 2 currently underway.
Conditions are being established for companies to immediately move into rental industrial complexes and large-scale industrial sites to generate synergies.
The Yeongju Advanced Bearing National Industrial Complex is emerging as a cluster for bearings and lightweight materials, which are core to the materials and components industry.
Yeongju city is also actively supporting workforce supply for tenant companies by developing specialized talent training programs and assisting with regional specialty visa acquisitions.
North Gyeongsang Governor Lee Cheol-woo held an investment attraction briefing on the 12th, stating, "Securing semiconductor supremacy and achieving balanced national development are urgent challenges of our era that can no longer be delayed."
"If companies make the decision to invest, we will clearly demonstrate a successful model for the 300-trillion-won regional investment era," he emphasized.
Gumi Mayor Kim Jang-ho said, "Gumi is the optimal strategic location equipped with semiconductor infrastructure and an industrial ecosystem."
"We will concentrate our capabilities to ensure the Gumi Semiconductor Specialized Complex, a core hub of the southern semiconductor innovation belt, can enhance national semiconductor competitiveness," he added.
Meanwhile, the heads of the top 10 conglomerates announced plans to invest 300 trillion won in regional areas over the next five years during a meeting with President Lee Jae-myung on the 4th.
